CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. ? Senior point guard Derek Wright hit two key buckets down the stretch and the Governors held off Southeast Missouri State University in the closing seconds as Austin Peay State University men's basketball team claimed an 85-82 Ohio Valley Conference decision, Saturday night, in Dave Aaron Arena.
The battle for first place saw the Governors improve to 11-7 overall, 7-1 in the OVC, while Southeast Missouri falls 11-7 overall, 6-2 in the OVC.
With the Governors clinging to an 80-78 lead with less than two minutes left, Wright nailed a three pointer from the top of the circle?his only three pointer of the night?to give the Governors a five-point advantage. After SEMO responded with a pair of free throws, Wright stepped up again with a minute left when he hit a jumper just inside the lane.
The Redhawks answered with a Will Bogan bucket and then fouled Wes Channels with 27 seconds left. However, Channels missed both free throws allowing SEMO one last chance to tie the contest. However, Roderick Pearson missed a potential game-tying three pointer with one second left.
The contest was befitting of a first-place battle. The visiting Redhawks shot 52.5 percent (32 of 61) from the floor while Austin Peay was almost as good at 51.7 percent (31 of 60). However, the Governors benefited from a 10-of-21 three-point shooting night, compared to 6 of 18 by SEMO. The Redhawks held a slim 34-33 rebound advantage.
APSU led almost from the outset. After watching the Redhawks score the game's first basketball, the Govs went on a 13-0 run. Southeast would trim APSU's lead to four on one occasion but APSU took a 46-38 lead into intermission.
The Governors made it 12-point margin early in the second half but SEMO roared back with a 17-2 run, sparked by Will Bogan and Calvin Williams' inside play, to give the Redhawks a 62-59 lead. .
But Drake Reed, who would finish seven-for-seven at the free-throw line in scoring 23 points, made a pair of free throws to halt the momentum before Fernandez Lockett slammed home a dunk on an inbounds play.
The two teams then would battle close the game's remainder. The Govs would lead by as much as six points, 70-64, before Wright would pick up his fourth foul with 7:52 left. As a result, SEMO came back, tying it on a Hark Harris layup with 5:12 remaining and actually taking a 77-75 lead on a Marcus Rhodes three pointer with 3:36 left.
But Todd Babington connected on his career's 200th three pointer with 3:23 left as APSU would regain the lead for good and then Lockett made it a three-point game with a baseline jumper.
However, Bogan answered for SEMO by making one of two free throws with 2:09 remaining to cut the Govs' lead to 80-78.
That set up Wright's two key buckets?he made only three field goals during the night.
Lockett ended the night with his season's third double-double, matching Reed's point total while grabbing a season-best 13 rebounds. Babington ended with 14 points while Channels bounced back from a struggling Murray State contest to end with 14 points, including four three pointers.
Meanwhile, Wright finished 11 assists, his second double-digit assist performance this season. APSU had 21 assists on the night.
Bogan led SEMO with 17 points on six-of-nine shooting while Jaycen Herring, the brother of Lady Govs' basketball player Ashley Herring, added 13 as did Rhodes. Brandon Foust finished with 10 points but left the game with a knee injury with 11:57 left, collapsing to the floor following a dunk during the Redhawks 17-2 run.
-AP-
